Test and measurement instrument that uses measurement preconditions for making measurements

Abstract

A test and measurement instrument including an interface configured to receive one or more preconditions for data acquisition, the one or more preconditions defining one or more rules to which data received during the data acquisition is to conform, and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to receive the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, determine whether the test and measurement instrument can be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, configure the test and measurement instrument to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition when the test and measurement instrument can be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, and generate one or more alerts when the test and measurement instrument cannot be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A test and measurement instrument, comprising:
 an interface configured to receive one or more preconditions for data acquisition, the one or more preconditions defining one or more rules to which data received during the data acquisition is to conform; and   one or more processors configured to:
 receive the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, 
 determine whether the test and measurement instrument can be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, 
 configure the test and measurement instrument to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition when the test and measurement instrument can be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, and 
 generate one or more alerts when the test and measurement instrument cannot be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition. 
   
     
     
         2 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more preconditions are static preconditions. 
     
     
         3 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more preconditions are dynamic preconditions, and the one or more processors are further configured to:
 receive data during the data acquisition;   determine whether the received data conforms to the one or more preconditions; and   generate one or more alerts when the data does not conform to the one or more preconditions.   
     
     
         4 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 configure the test and measurement instrument in response to the received data and the one or more preconditions.   
     
     
         5 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the interface is a programmatic interface. 
     
     
         6 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the interface is a user interface. 
     
     
         7 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more preconditions are conditional. 
     
     
         8 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 1 , further comprising a memory configured to store the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, wherein the interface is further configured to receive the one or more preconditions for data acquisition from the memory. 
     
     
         9 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 determine a current configuration of a test and measurement instrument; and   based on the current configuration, determine the one or more preconditions to store in the memory.   
     
     
         10 . The test and measurement instrument of  claim 8 , wherein the memory is further configured to store a plurality of identifiers, each identifier indicating one or more preconditions for a particular test and measurement instrument configuration. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive two or more preconditions for the data acquisition, wherein at least one precondition is a static precondition and at least one precondition is a dynamic precondition. 
     
     
         12 . A method for configuring a test and measurement instrument for data acquisition, the method comprising:
 receiving one or more preconditions for data acquisition, the one or more preconditions defining one or more rules to which data received during the data acquisition is to conform;   determining whether the test and measurement instrument can be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition;   configuring the test and measurement instrument to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition so that the acquired data meets the one or more preconditions when the test and measurement instrument can be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition, and
 generating one or more alerts when the test and measurement instrument cannot be configured to implement the one or more preconditions for data acquisition. 
   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more preconditions are a static precondition. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more preconditions are dynamic preconditions and the method further comprises:
 acquiring data during the data acquisition;   determining whether the received data conforms to the one or more preconditions; and   generating one or more alerts when the data does not conform to the one or more preconditions.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising configuring the test and measurement instrument in response to the acquired data and the one or more preconditions. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more preconditions are conditional. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 determining a current configuration of a test and measurement instrument;   determining the one or more preconditions based on the current configuration of the test and measurement instrument;   storing the one or more preconditions determined based on the current configuration of the test and measurement instrument; and   receiving the one or more preconditions from the memory.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising storing a plurality of identifiers, each identifier indicating one or more preconditions for a particular test and measurement instrument configuration. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving two or more preconditions for data acquisition;   determining whether the two or more preconditions are compatible; and   generating an alert when the two or more preconditions are not compatible.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising receiving two or more preconditions for data acquisition, wherein at least one precondition is a static precondition and at least one precondition is a dynamic precondition.